Where the heart is
by Mibamonster
Summary: Oneshot. After running away from home, Sirius realizes he needs a place to live and goes to the one place he feels welcome. After all, home is where the heart is.


Standing outside the Potters' house with nothing but a giant suitcase and his wand, Sirius wondered how he was going to explain this. _'Hey, Dorea, sorry to disturb you, but I ran away from home – think I could stay with you for a while until I somehow manage to get money and live on my own?' _Even he thought that sounded stupid and his idiocy threshold was quite high.

He knocked on the door and then let his arms drop by his sides. A warm breeze ruffled his hair, birds chirping in the background, the sun about to set. The external peace and quiet was so at odds with the nerves that were roaming through his body, it made him feel even more confused, restless. Now that he was stationary, he wished he was still travelling. At least then he'd had a purpose of some sorts.

'Sirius?'

He glanced up and looked into the face of his favourite woman in the world. Dorea Potter's grey hair framed her thin face, marked with worry. At the sight of her blue eyes and the open door, Sirius felt some of his worries being lifted off his shoulders.

'Hi,' he said. 'I'm sorry to bother you this late, but, um…' He couldn't go on, because at that moment Dorea stepped forward and embraced him, patting his back. The gesture was unexpected, but Sirius hugged her back, closing his eyes.

When she let him go, there was a small, sad smile playing around her lips. 'Do you want to come in?'

He nodded and followed her inside, carrying his trunk behind him. There was a faint lemony smell in the hall, a scent he always associated with the first holiday he'd spent at the Potters, back when he had been twelve. Dorea and Charlus had accepted him into their house then. He prayed that they would do so again.

Sirius left his luggage in the hall before he entered the living room. The sunlight streaming in through the windows cast an orange hue on the antique furniture. By the dinner table he saw James and Charlus staring intently at a game of chess in front of them. Just before Dorea closed the door, Charlus ran a hand through his white hair in exasperation, looking much like his son did every time something didn't go his way.

'Would you like some tea?' Dorea asked, causing James and Charlus to look up.

'Pads!' A grin stretched across James's face. 'Hey, mate! How are you?'

'I just ran away from home.' It came out so matter-of-factly it even surprised Sirius. Judging from their fleeting looks they sent each other, the Potters were not completely taken aback by this news. Dorea briefly touched Sirius's arm and then went off, saying to herself, 'Yes, tea sounds necessary right now.'

Sirius put his hands in the pockets of his jeans, feeling like an intruder. 'I'm really sorry, but I was wondering if I could stay here for a while? I mean, not definitely, but just until I've got my own place to stay?'

'Of course,' James said immediately. 'No problem, right, Dad?'

Charlus shook his head, chuckling. 'You could at least pretend your mother and I have any say in this.'

'Like mum would say anything different. Or you, for that matter.' James's eyes flitted to the door his mother had left through. 'How much tea d'you reckon she's going to make?'

Sirius leaned against the wall, his lips turned up. 'The first thing she did when she saw me was hug me.'

'Enough tea to start her own ocean, then. You know, in case you have any deep emotions you wish to discuss.' James halted, his confidence abandoning him for a moment. '_Do _you… um, do you want to talk about it? Because, you know, you can. If you need to. Um…'

Snorting, Sirius said, 'My emotions are fine, Prongs.'

Relief crossed James's features. 'Okay. Good. Not that having emotions is a bad thing, but…'

The door opened again and a teapot floated in, with a plate of biscuits and Dorea in its wake. Dorea waved her wand and the dishware set itself on the table next to the chess board. She turned to Sirius and ushered him into one of the chairs.

'You can stay as long as you like,' she said. With another flick of her wand she conjured four teacups. 'We love having you here, you know that.'

'Thanks. I wouldn't ask, but I - ' Sirius started. He wanted to tell them how much he appreciated this – even if they kicked him out now, it was nice to feel like someone cared. No, it was nice to _know _someone cared. 'I didn't know where else to go and - ' He shrugged, unsure what to do with his emotions. They weren't as fine as he'd thought. Next to him, James looked equally awkward.

'I really, really appreciate this,' said Sirius.

'Oh, nonsense.' Dorea waved his words away, but Sirius got the impression her voice was higher than usual. 'You can always come here.'

'Sometimes I think you like him better than me,' said James. 'When I got back all she said was, "What do you do to your hair to make it look like that?" and now look at this.' He gestured at Sirius. 'Nothing said about _your _hair.' He grimaced at Sirius, dispelling the tension.

Rolling her eyes, Dorea put one arm around James's shoulders. 'I love you too, Jimmy.'

'Maybe even almost as much as we love Sirius,' said Charles.

'Hey, thanks, Dad. ' Behind his glasses, he squinted in contemplation. 'D'you think Moony's parents will have me?'

..

Later that evening the two boys were lying in James's room. Though the lights were turned off, Sirius could still see James's profile when he turned to his side. It was strange how familiar this felt; he'd spent so many nights at the Potter's, but always knowing he'd have to go back to Grimmauld Place. Not this time, though. He'd never have to go back there.

James's voice sounded very clear in the darkness of the room. 'Pads?'

'Prongs?'

Silence. Then, 'Are you sure you're okay?'

'I… yeah.' Sirius stared up at the ceiling, glad James couldn't see his expression. 'I'm fine. Better than fine. Really glad that I'm finally _gone _from that madhouse.'

He thought James would let it rest and closed his eyes to go to sleep, but James spoke up again. 'But they're still your family. What if you don't see them again?'

Sirius actually thought he could live with that. The only half-decent members of his family – Andromeda, perhaps Regulus – he would see again anyway. As for the rest? 'Never would be too soon.' He cleared his throat. 'To me, you're my family. You, Charlus, Dorea, Moony, Peter… Maybe even Evans!'

James chuckled. 'I'm sure she'll love to hear that.'

'Well, I assume she's basically going to be my sister-in-law when you finally man up and ask her out…' Suddenly, a pillow hit him in the face, followed by James's 'Shut up and go to sleep. Wanker.'

'Hey, if you go on like this, I might cut you out of my new family.' He tossed the pillow back to James.

Apart from James turning around and making himself comfortable, everything was silent and Sirius found himself drifting off to sleep. There were still a lot of things he had to worry about, but he'd worry about them _tomorrow_. Besides, things should be okay, right?

'Pads?'

Sirius grunted.

'You're my family, too.'

Yeah. Things were going to be okay.

* * *

**British teenage boys plus emotions: not the best combination. I hope you liked it and reviews are always welcome!**


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